Office Supplies in St Louis: Pen Facts to Astound You!

If there is one type of office supplies in St Louis we can bet is sitting on your desk at this very moment, it’s a pen. These ubiquitous writing utensils are used each and every day in homes, offices, facilities, hospitals, stores and essential everywhere, but how much do you really know about them? Here are some of our favorite fascinating facts about these common pieces of office supplies in St. Louis.

Roller-ball pens that come with caps can dry out because they are water-based.

But oil-based retractable pens won’t ever dry out.

The average pen can scribble out a whopping 45,000 words.

Pens have been around for over 5,000 years. Ancient Egyptians mixed red ochre, soot, beeswax and vegetable gum to create ink, and reed straws were used as holders.

John Loud received the first patent for a ballpoint pen in 1888, but Hungarian journalist Laszio Biro invented the pen as we know it in 1938.

The smallest fountain pen in the world can write lines that measure a minuscule 40 nanometers in width.

Need to write underwater, at zero gravity, in extreme temperatures or on greasy or wet paper? Get yourself a “Space Pen” that features a pressurized ink cartridge.

The balls in ballpoint pens serve two functions — they prevent the ink from drying while also controlling the rate ink flows from the pen.

The balls in modern pens are often made from tungsten carbide, a metal that is three times tougher than steel.

Don’t ever play with a pen cap in your mouth! Over 100 deaths every year are caused by choking on or swallowing pen caps.

Got a new pen? Odds are the first word you’ll write is your name. 95% of people react the same way.

Ballpoint pens were a favorite of pilots during the Second World War because they don’t leak at high altitudes.

Each year, over 2 billion pens are made in the United States alone.

Left-handed writers should always choose ballpoint pens because of their quick drying times.

In 1949, Marcel Bich released the first affordable ballpoint pen in the world. He named it after himself, but dropped the “H” at the end of his last name, giving us the “Bic” pen.

Gel ink was first created in Japan in 1984 by the Sakura Color Products Corp.

3.5 billion ballpoint pens are imported to the US each year.

On average, a ballpoint pen can draw a line over 5,500 feet long.

People hang on to a pen for an average of about six months before tossing it, using it up or losing it.